I have said this time and again and I'll say it once more that I am not a big fan of musicals because of a few main reasons 1) sometimes when characters burst out into songs, they basically sing on what they are doing and take you out of the movie instead of having the song being integrated into the main story and 2) sometimes the songs, even though they could be well-written, can either not as memorable or basically irrelevant, e.g., it will drag on and I would want to continue on with the story. Even though there are very good ones such as Hairspray, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Moulin Rouge!, excluding Disney animated films because some of them are perfect, I think there are three live-action perfect musicals in my opinion: Singin' in the Rain, Sweeney Todd and this movie: The Sound of Music.
The movie opens memorably with a helicopter shot as it approaches hills and some mountains in Austria as Maria (Julie Andrews) twirls and sings the title song. She enjoys being free in the mountains, being charismatic with her imagination, however, her lack of discipline causes some of the nuns to be concerned since she is studying to become a nun at Nonnberg Abbey. The Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood) believes it is better off for Maria to be outside of the abbey since she is happier and be the governess of retired naval officer, Captain Von Trapp's (Christopher Plummer) seven children - Liesl, Frederich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl. Von Trapp has been raising his children swiftly and strictly since the death of his first wife.
While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria shows kindness to the seven misbehaving children as they also respond with respect as they play along and sing along as they go around Austria. When Von Trapp comes back to the villa with Baroness Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker) and his brother, Max (Richard Haydn), they discover or "so he has imagined", his children and Maria climbing trees with their "play clothes", which were made from drapes. Displeased by his children's behavior, Maria encourages the Captain to be closer to the children and the Captain orders her back to the abbey. Afterwards, the Captain hears them singing and for the first time in a while, he sings with them and draws closer to them and he allows Maria to stay.
Impressed by the children's ability to sing, Max proposes to the Captain that he enters the children into the upcoming Salzburg Festival but he rejects Max's offer as he does not want them to sing in public. He does agree to a grand party at the villa. As the children are observing the adults dancing the traditional Ländler folk dance, Maria teaches Kurt how to dance but the Captain cuts in and partners with Maria. After their dance, they get in a close embrace as for the first time, Maria is attractive to the Captain and because of that revelation, she leaves the Von Trapp household. Whereas, at the same time, the Baroness and the Captain discuss marriage, which disappoints the children.
As I watched the movie again, I now paid attention to the characters more than the singing and I'll go into that in a moment. All of the songs in this movie are truly memorable. The only facet I cannot dilute is why My Favorite Things is considered a song to play during Christmas. But, my favorite songs in this whole movie are two memorable songs and one underrated song: obviously, the intro song of The Sound of Music, Do-Re-Mi and the underrated Edelweiss: and that has been sung in two different scenes and actually that song is integral to Captain Von Trapp's character development in the movie. As I have observed from the musical scenes were the joy of filmmaking and very few musicals have that and two of the three "perfect" ones as I described earlier in the review have that same joy. Yeah, I don't know if Sweeney Todd had that same joy but the songs in Todd drive the narrative forward.
Now, I paid to, first, Captain Von Trapp as he introduced as a strict parent to the children avoiding them as he is missing the opportunity to get to know them as they grow up as he leaves Austria often. He becomes closer as he notices the children to become more happy and more free as he observes them singing for the first time. Von Trapp becomes not as stuck up for the middle portion of the film and obviously the dynamic between Maria and the Captain changes as they dance as they no longer become solely as the Governess and the employer, but potentially become a couple. Her charisma and free spirit is what basically attracts the Captain. You know the saying, opposites attract. But, also, the two scenes in which he sings Edelweiss is both different because he is happy as his children has become happier with Maria but, later, during the festival, he looked like he was devastated because Austria is now annexed and he has to leave the country and everything he loves, besides his family, behind.
It is a moment of happiness for both of them as Maria returns from the abbey for the second time because they, *spoilers, but come on, it's been over 50 years since it came out*, both get married. However, things have changed Austria as the country has been annexed into the Third Reich into the Anschluss, as their moment of happiness changes into a moment of bitter displeasure as the Captain receives a telegram to be commissioned into the German Army. The movie gets better as they plan to escape from Austria after the festival and in a climactic sequence in the Abbey which is full of quiet suspense, the payoff is awesome. Even though for Maria's character changes from nanny to now mother, her character is more protective and realizes that even though, there is free spirit and charisma in herself, she now relies on the children's safety more as they escape to Switzerland.
Director Robert Wise has made another musical, West Side Story, which also won Best Picture in 1961 but I thought that some scenes were a bit overblown with the music and the movie did drag a bit. With this movie, the story does not focus on solely on the characters and the music, but also the changing history surrounding the country and the characters because it delves more into a family's personal side as the historical shift of power impacts them, especially Von Trapp's. This is a musical that many families have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy for a long time. It is a classic.
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